It’s been a busy time for us as we celebrate the completion of yet another remarkable project – Almshouses, Maidstone.
Alms Houses was handed over last Thursday for our client, Cutbush and Corrall – a charity that focusses on the the prevention and relief of poverty through accommodation and housing.
Significant in more ways than one, this project is one we are particularly proud of. The heritage behind this project is what makes it unique, involving the restoration of a Grade II listed alms house building within a conservation area.
But what is an almshouse? An almshouse is a unit of residential accommodation which belongs to a charity, is provided exclusively to meet the charity’s purposes and is occupied under a license by a qualified beneficiary. In conclusion, we have been involved in providing affordable accommodation for people in need, for the greater good of the community complying with the charity’s missions towards the community.
The site was previously unhabitable. Our work involved converting 6 two storey apartments into 12 single storey apartments considering accessibility, insulation and thermal performance.
Working within an existing heritage building comes with constraints and needs careful consideration. We were tasked with increasing the thermal of the building without effecting the size of the usable space, amongst other obstacles. None which we couldn’t overcome.
Betteridge and Milsom acted as Quantity Surveyor, Contract Administrator, Principal Designer and Clerk of Works on the Alms Houses.
Clague Architects
CTP Consulting Engineers
Charles D Associates
SEA Building Compliance
Harwood Building Control
BREEM Contractors
George Malone, who was one of our Project Surveyors involved, thoroughly enjoyed working on this scheme. There were various learning curbs and this always makes for an exciting project journey. Well done to all those involved.
(Pictures courtesy of BREEM Contractors)
